Ebey Slough Bridge closed this weekend for paving

The new Ebey Slough Bridge over Highway 529 in Marysville is scheduled to be closed this weekend so crews can apply the final layer of pavement to the bridge deck.

The work had been planned several times before and each time was cancelled by rain.

Both directions of the bridge are scheduled to close at 5 a.m. Saturday. The highway is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

Southbound drivers may use a signed detour using Fourth Street in Marysville and southbound I-5. Northbound drivers will be directed off Highway 529 at the exit to northbound I-5 and then to Fourth Street (exit 199) to reach Marysville.

In addition to pavement, crews plan to paint temporary lane markers on the bridge. Permanent markers are scheduled to be applied this summer.

The $39 million bridge opened to traffic in April 2012, replacing the steel drawbridge that carried cars over the slough for 85 years. The new bridge was built next to the old one, which was dismantled and removed over the course of last year.

About 17,000 vehicles per day travel over Ebey Slough, according to the state Department of Transportation.